Posts from — May 2008

The folks over at Creative Labs are probably not having such a great week. JR.com last week accidently leaked details on their new compact camcorder series, the Vado. After word got out, the company seemingly scrambled to submit a proper press release and image of the product this week.

Wired noticed the last week that the camcorder appeared out of nowhere on JR. They’re basic review of the product is that it’s merely a clone of the Flip camcorders.

From Wired’s blog:
“It’s a surprise that nobody has done this before. The modest little Flip commands a huge 13% of the entire market, proving the demand for a cheap and cheerful camcorder. We expect that Vado won’t be the first attempt to cut a slice of this cake.”

Can you really blame them for trying to capitalize on the Youtube video phenomenon? Plus, who can argue with the $100 price tag? I’d think these would come in handy when you’re traveling and don’t really care about quality.

Picture Source: JR Blog

DVD Beaver is a great resource on dvd releases. They know about releases for all countries and formats way before these dvds are released.

And in typical fashion, they told me first that Criterion is finally releasing some titles this fall on Blu-Ray.
Here’s a list of the films:
The Third Man
Bottle Rocket
Chungking Express
The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Last Emperor
El Norte
The 400 Blows
Gimme Shelter
The Complete Monterey Pop
Contempt
Walkabout
For All Mankind
The Wages of Fear

I’m most excited about The Man Who Fell to Earth, which I think will benefit greatly from the Blu-Ray enhanced features.

This might be the final straw for my old dvd player, cos Criterion dvds in HD is definitely a good reason to upgrade to Blu-Ray.

The fourth book in the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian was one of my favorites when I was a kid. Maybe it’s because it is more complex and serious than it’s predecessor.

In this book, it has only been a year later for the children, but it has been over 1300 years in Narnia time. The peaceful land they left is no more. The castle is in disrepair and deserted. Rather quickly, they meet Prince Caspian who explains that they’ve arrived in the middle of a war for Narnia. Together with Caspian and Aslan, they must save Narnia from the evil King Miraz who wishes to seize the throne.

Andrew Adamson is back, who wrote and directed both films. I have high hopes for the film version, despite not liking the first film. It is still rated PG, so I wouldn’t expect too much violence. Still, it can’t be as bad as Speed Racer since I really like the novel.

Prince Caspian hits theaters Friday, May 16th.

Watch an interview with the director on SciFi Wire.

I was thinking of buying my mom a camcorder for Mother’s Day, but wasn’t sure what to get. Through my research online, I discovered JVC’s mother’s day contest!!

“One winner will receive a Grand Prize package of two new Everio GZ-MG330 hard disk camcorders. In addition, judges will award five First Prizes ($75 gift certificate for flowers and a set of JVC Gumy Ear Bud Headphones) and 10 Second Prizes (JVC Gumy Ear Bud Headphones). JVC will announce the prize winners on May 12, 2008.”

So I guess you win a camcorder for yourself and your mom. Pretty cool, but in the meantime, I better send my mom a card. =)

Source: Marketwire

An action movie with James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, and Angelina Jolie? And it’s directed by the the guy who gave us Night Watch and the sequel Day Watch, the highest grossing Russian movies of all time?

Sign me up, please.

Trailer Check:

Forget about iron men, racers, lions of Narnia, or sexy girls in the city. I think Wanted is a summer blockbuster I can get behind. The assassin frenzy hits theaters on June 27th.